I was watching ESPN and Jeff Brantley and Peter Gammons were discussing farm systems. Peter Gammons said that the White Sox farm system has made the largest jump in prospects that he has ever seen. He said the Sox started 2004 without any prospects that were listed in the top 50 and that none of them were major league ready or even close to be major league players. Brantley agreed and went on to say that he thought Brandon McCarthy had become the #1 pitching prospect in the minor leagues (meaning that he would start in the minors and not in the big leagues) and that McCarthy had the best control, composure and ability to throw 3 pitches for strikes at any time in the count since Mark Prior. Prior, however, was and is a much more powerful pitcher and McCarthy has more finesse in him.

They also brought up Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Josh Fields, Kris Honel, Gio Gonzales, Francisco Hernandez (19 yr old catcher), Chris Young and lastly Joe Borchard. They believed Borchard would break through if he was given the chance to because there is now a lot less expected of him. The rest of the players named were said to be "big time" prospects with at least 4 of 5 tools and most would be major league ready by 2006 or 2007 at the latest!!

They ended up naming the Sox in the top 5 of both of their top ten lists (Brantley #3 / Gammons #5) and I was ecstatic and proud and I could not believe the Sox were getting credit for something. I guess the organization does know what they are doing because they have not lost any real talent from the trades for Alomar and Everett (even though the 2nd Alomar trade was dumb). The people who thought they are smarter than Kenny Williams(people who thought K.W. was ruining the farm club), do not look they really knew what they were talking about. Where is Royce Ring saving games, (he was not even in Mets Spring Training at all) ?How about Edwin Almonte, infielder Andrew SalvoorMatt Guerrier (whom the Sox traded for Marte)???John Rauch is in the Nationals bullpen (not starting) along with a decent reliever in Gary Majewski.Anthony Websterand Josh Rupe are not doing much and Frankie Francisco is either in jail, deported (or he should be) and not allowed back in the U.S. (for hitting the woman in the crowd with a chair)!!

I know we have lost Josh Fogg, Kip Wells, Michael Morse and Jeremy Reed, who still have time on their sides, but, at least Kenny was trying to do something. He was trying his best to get the team in the playoffs. Yes, the Sox have not made it, but, they will and I hope Kenny keeps trying to get us in the World Series, rather than worrying about the farm system. I enjoy hearing about and watching about prospects, but over 75% of the time, they do not pan out(maybe it is just the Sox). When you look at all the prospects Kenny has traded for experienced players, the Sox have not lost that badly and they have suceeded with Everett and Garcia. The Sox have lost numbers in the farm system, but, who wants numbers if they cannot play for your major league team. It does not matter if you trade crap! It only looks like between 2 and 4 of the prospects we have lost are going to be major league players and no one really knows how good Jeremy Reed or Michael Morse are going to be any way? So, maybe it will only be 2 (Fogg and Wells)!! I just hope Kenny keeps aggressive in trying to get a World Series Champion for the most deserving fans in the world .... Sox Fans!!!

Just do not trade Brandon McCarthy! That would make Sox fans
very angry and Kenny, you do not want to see Sox fans angry!!

But not drinky , druggy and/or stupid!!!!----- Go

Just ask this man about that!?!?

In no way am I saying that I agree with anything that was done to this man, he was an innocent bystander and the idiot, drug addict, criminal that hurt him should be incarcerated for a very long time and I wished he was for the attack on Gamboa, but he was not! However, he was arrested for a parole violation about 6 months ago, so let's all hope he gets it high and hard because he gave ALL SOX FANS a black eye, that we do not deserve!!

I was watching ESPN and Jeff Brantley and Peter Gammons were discussing farm systems. Peter Gammons said that the White Sox farm system has made the largest jump in prospects that he has ever seen. He said the Sox started 2004 without any prospects that were listed in the top 50 and that none of them were major league ready or even close to be major league players. Brantley agreed and went on to say that he thought Brandon McCarthy had become the #1 pitching prospect in the minor leagues (meaning that he would start in the minors and not in the big leagues) and that McCarthy had the best control, composure and ability to throw 3 pitches for strikes at any time in the count since Mark Prior. Prior, however, was and is a much more powerful pitcher and McCarthy has more finesse in him.

They also brought up Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Josh Fields, Kris Honel, Gio Gonzales, Francisco Hernandez (19 yr old catcher), Chris Young and lastly Joe Borchard. They believed Borchard would break through if he was given the chance to because there is now a lot less expected of him. The rest of the players named were said to be "big time" prospects with at least 4 of 5 tools and most would be major league ready by 2006 or 2007 at the latest!!

They ended up naming the Sox in the top 5 of both of their top ten lists (Brantley #3 / Gammons #5) and I was ecstatic and proud and I could not believe the Sox were getting credit for something. I guess the organization does know what they are doing because they have not lost any real talent from the trades for Alomar and Everett (even though the 2nd Alomar trade was dumb). The people who thought they are smarter than Kenny Williams(people who thought K.W. was ruining the farm club), do not look they really knew what they were talking about. Where is Royce Ring saving games, (he was not even in Mets Spring Training at all) ?How about Edwin Almonte, infielder Andrew SalvoorMatt Guerrier (whom the Sox traded for Marte)???John Rauch is in the Nationals bullpen (not starting) along with a decent reliever in Gary Majewski.Anthony Websterand Josh Rupe are not doing much and Frankie Francisco is either in jail, deported (or he should be) and not allowed back in the U.S. (for hitting the woman in the crowd with a chair)!!

................

Just do not trade Brandon McCarthy! That would make Sox fans
very angry and Kenny, you do not want to see Sox fans angry!!

But not drinky , druggy and/or stupid!!!!----- Go

Just ask this man about that!?!?

In no way am I saying that I agree with anything that was done to this man, he was an innocent bystander and the idiot, drug addict, criminal that hurt him should be incarcerated for a very long time and I wished he was for the attack on Gamboa, but he was not! However, he was arrested for a parole violation about 6 months ago, so let's all hope he gets it high and hard because he gave ALL SOX FANS a black eye, that we do not deserve!!

GO SOX!!!...TO HELL WITH THE WRIGLEY FIELD TEAM FANS!!!

Am I supposed to be confused after reading that? What just happened? It went from our prospects to whatever that was at the end....

This kida scares me a bit. Gammons is always wrong but now I'm hoping he's right. Either way, its nice to see some positive publicity for a change, although it really doesn't mean jack. We'll get a pretty good idea of where these guys are at at the end of the season, but until then it's just speculation. Besides, I have a feeling KW is going to make a couple of moves this season so you can expect that list to shrink.

BTW, what about Felix and Arnie? Have they just enitrely dropped off the radar even after posting some impressive numbers in the minors last year? I always seem to hear crap on the radio about how Sergio Mitre is going to step up for the Flubs, but everytime Diaz is mentioned he gets trashed. Remember his performace against the Flubs last year under pressure? I still think this kid can become a solid no.4/no.5 starter from what I've seen, and I'm guessing Arnie could be effective out of the bullpen down his career if he gets the opportunity. Any thoughts on these guys? Are they trade bait or still in the Sox plans down the road?

I love how Gammons says the Sox have made the biggest jump yet he talks about players they've had for two to three years. In other words he's covering up the fact that the Sox farm system never got as far down as all the geniouses thought. It took a great spring training for B-Mac for them to notice. Yet he's been pitching well all along. These guys notice things a five year old could see. It reminds me of the guy, Red Murph, who "discovered" Nolan Ryan. Uh let's see this kid throws 100mph I think he could be a diamond in the rough. Give me a break. Give more credit to people who see greatness in unexpected players...like a Mark Buehrle for instance. Go Sox!!!

I was watching ESPN and Jeff Brantley and Peter Gammons were discussing farm systems. Peter Gammons said that the White Sox farm system has made the largest jump in prospects that he has ever seen. He said the Sox started 2004 without any prospects that were listed in the top 50 and that none of them were major league ready or even close to be major league players. Brantley agreed and went on to say that he thought Brandon McCarthy had become the #1 pitching prospect in the minor leagues (meaning that he would start in the minors and not in the big leagues) and that McCarthy had the best control, composure and ability to throw 3 pitches for strikes at any time in the count since Mark Prior. Prior, however, was and is a much more powerful pitcher and McCarthy has more finesse in him.

They also brought up Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Josh Fields, Kris Honel, Gio Gonzales, Francisco Hernandez (19 yr old catcher), Chris Young and lastly Joe Borchard. They believed Borchard would break through if he was given the chance to because there is now a lot less expected of him. The rest of the players named were said to be "big time" prospects with at least 4 of 5 tools and most would be major league ready by 2006 or 2007 at the latest!!

They ended up naming the Sox in the top 5 of both of their top ten lists (Brantley #3 / Gammons #5) and I was ecstatic and proud and I could not believe the Sox were getting credit for something. I guess the organization does know what they are doing because they have not lost any real talent from the trades for Alomar and Everett (even though the 2nd Alomar trade was dumb). The people who thought they are smarter than Kenny Williams(people who thought K.W. was ruining the farm club), do not look they really knew what they were talking about. Where is Royce Ring saving games, (he was not even in Mets Spring Training at all) ?How about Edwin Almonte, infielder Andrew SalvoorMatt Guerrier (whom the Sox traded for Marte)???John Rauch is in the Nationals bullpen (not starting) along with a decent reliever in Gary Majewski.Anthony Websterand Josh Rupe are not doing much and Frankie Francisco is either in jail, deported (or he should be) and not allowed back in the U.S. (for hitting the woman in the crowd with a chair)!!

I know we have lost Josh Fogg, Kip Wells, Michael Morse and Jeremy Reed, who still have time on their sides, but, at least Kenny was trying to do something. He was trying his best to get the team in the playoffs. Yes, the Sox have not made it, but, they will and I hope Kenny keeps trying to get us in the World Series, rather than worrying about the farm system. I enjoy hearing about and watching about prospects, but over 75% of the time, they do not pan out(maybe it is just the Sox). When you look at all the prospects Kenny has traded for experienced players, the Sox have not lost that badly and they have suceeded with Everett and Garcia. The Sox have lost numbers in the farm system, but, who wants numbers if they cannot play for your major league team. It does not matter if you trade crap! It only looks like between 2 and 4 of the prospects we have lost are going to be major league players and no one really knows how good Jeremy Reed or Michael Morse are going to be any way? So, maybe it will only be 2 (Fogg and Wells)!! I just hope Kenny keeps aggressive in trying to get a World Series Champion for the most deserving fans in the world .... Sox Fans!!!

Just do not trade Brandon McCarthy! That would make Sox fans
very angry and Kenny, you do not want to see Sox fans angry!!

But not drinky , druggy and/or stupid!!!!----- Go

Just ask this man about that!?!?

In no way am I saying that I agree with anything that was done to this man, he was an innocent bystander and the idiot, drug addict, criminal that hurt him should be incarcerated for a very long time and I wished he was for the attack on Gamboa, but he was not! However, he was arrested for a parole violation about 6 months ago, so let's all hope he gets it high and hard because he gave ALL SOX FANS a black eye, that we do not deserve!!

GO SOX!!!...TO HELL WITH THE WRIGLEY FIELD TEAM FANS!!!

This kind of stuff should be an object lesson in interpreting these minor league system ratings. The Sox went from no prospects to suddenly being flush. Where did all these hot prospects suddenly come from? Did they just parachute in from Mongolia? They were there all along, but the geniuses that put together these ratings just missed them.

While I am not disagreeing with the general point of the original post in this thread, there are some inaccuracies there and in a reply or two. My point is not anti-Kenny Williams either.

Matt Guerrier has gotten Major League time with the Twins and will probably continue to do so. Was it a big blow to lose him? No, but at the same time, he had significant value at the time. While the trade worked out for the Sox very well, I wouldn't discount him as giving up nothing. Losing players like him (and not only him) hurt the depth of your farm system. Good depth can allow other players to develop at the proper pace and not be rushed. Even though all players won't make the Majors, having depth can actually help other players develop properly and succeed.

You can say the same for Jon Rauch and Gary Majewski.

The Sox gave up a lot in the first Carl Everett trade. Frankie Francisco will continue to pitch in the big leagues, last year's incident notwithstanding. Both Anthony Webster and Josh Rupe had nice years last year despite each losing some time to injury and are on good developmental pace. Webster, still only 21, hit .287 with 35 extra base hits, scored 66 runs and stole 20 bases in only 99 games last year. Look for him to possibly break out this year and jump right back onto the prospect lists.

Rupe will play this year at 22 and should start in AA, where he finished last year. He battled injuries last year, yet still he dominated in High A coming off the injury and more than held his own in AA. He is still very much a legitimate prospect.

The reason the Sox system was considered "so far down" is that those trades really ate up the depth at the top of the farm system and the talent was at the lower levels. Many top lower level prospects never pan out, so unless they are the cream of the crop, they are not weighed as heavily when rating a farm system against other clubs who do have better talent at the top.

The Sox system "jumped" in the ratings, because they had a very successful year with lower level prospects suceeding at higher levels. Brian Anderson finished the year in AA and had some success before nagging injuries made him tail off at the end. Ryan Sweeney, just a year out of HS, held his own in High A after skipping Low A. Brandon McCarthy, while he had put up excellent numbers, spent two seasons in rookie ball and had never done it for a full season, so he made a huge jump. Gio and Francisco Hernandez were not on the radar. Chris Young was still raw and coming off of two years in rookie ball.

It would be very nice for all of the aforementioned parties to continue on an upward track along with some others, but the odds aren't in favor of that. I think it is certainly legit to say that the Sox system made a big jump last year, but I would also caution at rating it amongst the top 5 in the game.